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Born on February 24 1943, George was one of the four children of Harold,
a busdriver, and Louise, a housewife. George attended Dovendale Primary
School, years behind John Lennon, and then he attended Liverpool Institute,
one year behind Paul. George was the youngest Beatle and the only Beatle
whose childhood was not marred by divorce or death. His interest in music
started at an early age. When he was thirteen, his mother bought him his
first guitar for three pounds from a classmate. He formed a group of his
own called "The Rebels". When this band broke up, George was
able to find a spot in the "Les Stewart Quartet". Paul introduced
George to the Quarrymen when he was only fourteen. George idolised John
and would often stand at the back of the room at their shows with his
guitar. He even filled in for the regular guitarist when he failed to
show up. John eventually asked George to join the band In 1960, the Quarrymen
had changed their name to The Beatles and were performing in Hamburg.
The had been regular performers in the Indra Club, but when they appeared
in the Top Ten Club, a rival club, the owner of the Indra Club informed
the authorities of George's age. He was only 17, too young to have a work
permit. He was forced to return to England. By the time they appeared
on "The Ed Sullivan Show", American polls showed George as the
most popular Beatle. George's songwriting was often ignored by the band
which annoyed him. Although his efforts were no match in number to the
group's Lennon/McCartney efforts, his hits included "Something",
"Taxman", "Here Comes The Sun","I Need You"
and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Ravi Shanker and the Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi both had a profound influence on George. Shanker was responsible
for George's love of Indian music while the Maharishi helped him to understand
Transcendental Meditation. George introduced the Beatles to the Maharishi.
He married Pattie Boyd on January 21 1966. At the same time, he met Eric
Clapton and they both became good friends despite Clapton's obvious longing
for Pattie. Eric wrote songs such as "Layla" for her. After
the break up of the Beatles, George's solo concerts in America in 1974
were severely criticised because of his failure to play Beatles songs
and his overly experimental music. This tour drained George physically
and mentally, causing him to lapse into a depression. In 1977, he divorced
Pattie who soon married Eric Clapton. George then met, fell in love with
and married Olivia Arrias. They had one son, Dhani, born on August 1 1978.
For the last 20 years of his life, George lived in Friar Park in an enormous
Victorian Gothic Mansion. At the end of 1999, he was attacked in his home
and stabbed numerous times by a thief that had managed to get through
the expensive security at his home. George recovered from this attack
but the years that followed involved a struggle against cancer that eventually
took his life on the 29th of November 2001. He is remembered by those
that were lucky enough to know him for his unique personality and sense
of humour. He left us with amazing music that will live on. I heard a
quote of George's that was on a newspaper the day of his death. It told
a story of the first time the Beatles were recording in the studio and
the producer told them that if there was anything that they didn't like
they should tell him so that he could sort it out. George promptly said
"Firstly, I don't like your tie". It's this sharp humour that
contributed to his popularity.




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